THE TAXES WE PAY

2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: 464

Last Sunday an Op-Ed in The Orange County Register by Rosilicle Ochoa Bogh entitled “How many more taxes will Californians put up with?” caught my attention. Among other things, the article sets forth the taxes that we Californians pay, which are as follows:

• Withholdings, which are taken directly from our paychecks: Federal and state income taxes (“which can range from 10% to 37% and 1% to 13.3%,” respectively), payroll deductions and disability insurance;
• Sales taxes (which are 7.25%, plus city and county taxes, which bring the average up to 8.98%), gas taxes (which are now at 70.9 cents per gallon -- the highest of any state) and property taxes (which are set at 1% of the property value, but to which are added voter-approved local bonds, parcel assessments, Mello-Roos charges and special district fees);
• Vehicle registration;
• Utility bills, which include public purpose programs, renewable energy mandates and other state-required surcharges;
• Fees attached to everything from car tires to home improvements;
• Fees from various non-elected Regulatory Agencies, such as emissions programs from the California Air Resources Board; utility surcharges to fund energy-efficiency programs, wildfire mitigation and grid updates from the California Public Utilities Commission; additional fees and rules in Southern California from the South Coast Quality Management District that affect virtually everything from small businesses to household appliances; and additional fees for such things as tire recycling, lumber assessments, stormwater charges, air quality district fees, and development impact fees.

Are we getting our money’s worth? According to statistics cited by Columnist Jon Coupal, California ranks 49th out of 50 states in taxpayer benefits for taxes paid. Thus the reality is that even with us paying much larger taxes than all other states but one, California still faces real problems with homelessness, education, transportation and crime – and spending deficits. So what can be done? As has been written many times in this series, it is our government, and if it is not working we have no one to blame but ourselves. That means that each one of us should contact our elected representatives and strongly convey the reality that the votes are going to go to those officeholders who return us to financial responsibility, which will repeal many fees and lower our taxes. Former California Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger once was quoted as saying: “From the time they get up in the morning and flush the toilet they are taxed. Then they go and get the cup of coffee, they’re taxed. This goes on all day. Tax. Yax. Tax.” I agree with him, and am trying to do something about it. Please join me.

(Another Thought for the Week: To be successful you must be in the service business. That means that you must give value, which results in the best advertising, which is “Word of Mouth.”)